Herbal Treatment for Porphyria

Disease Information

What Is Porphyria?

The term Porphyria refers to a group of eight different disorders described by the accumulation of porphyrins or porphyrin precursors in the body. Porphyrins are necessary for the function of hemoglobin – a protein in the red blood cells that links to porphyrin, binds iron and carries oxygen to your organs and tissue.

Porphyria is rare. Doctors don’t know the exact number of people living with this condition because numerous have no symptoms of the disease.Porphyria can affect the nervous system or skin. Sometimes both are affected. The condition may or may not cause symptoms. Symptoms may develop over hours or days and last for days or weeks.

Under normal conditions porphyrins are made by the body in small amounts during the synthesis of heme. Heme is a necessary element of hemoglobin which is responsible for transporting oxygen through our bodies. It is produced in a sequence of chemical reactions each one under the control of an exact enzyme. If one of these enzymes is defective there is a buildup of porphyrins or their precursors which may accumulate to toxic levels. Each porphyria is caused by shortage of a particular enzyme in the pathway.

Treatment depends on the kind of porphyria you have and the severity of symptoms. Treatment includes identifying and avoiding symptom triggers and then dismissing symptoms when they occur. Herbal Treatment for Porphyria is better solution for reducing the symptoms.

Causes Of Porphyria

There is a lineup of Causes of Porphyria that have been recognized which are believed to be responsible for causing this disorder. In cutaneous porphyria the porphyrins grow in the skin and when exposed to sunlight cause symptoms. In acute porphyria, the buildup damages the nervous system.

There are listed here for Causes of Porphyria:

• Consuming too much iron

• All kinds of stress

• Crash dieting or fasting

• Excessive use of alcohol or estrogen.

• Excessive smoking

• A long lasting liver disease such as chronic hepatitis C

• HIV virus responsible for causing AIDS

• Gene abnormalities linked with hemochromatosis which caused buildup of iron in the body

• Regular use of some medications or hormones

• Excessive exposure to sunlight

Symptoms Of Porphyria

Symptoms of Porphyria do not commonly appear until well after puberty and are seen more in women than in men and more likely to happen during menstruation. The majority of people who inherit the condition do not have attacks. Where symptoms do take place, they are sudden and can last for days or weeks.

Porphyria causes three major Symptoms of Porphyria:

• Abdominal pain or cramping

• Problems with the nervous system and muscles

• Sensitivity to light that can cause rashes, blistering and scarring of the skin

There are some key Symptoms of Porphyria that make it easier for the health care professionals to recognize this disorder before they can go onto beginning the high end disease management routine.

Here’s a compiled list of symptoms for reference:

Attacks of acute porphyria may unfold or progress with the following Symptoms of Porphyria:

• Anxiety, restlessness and insomnia

• Severe abdominal pain

• Reddish coloured urine

• Pain in your arms, legs or back

• Vomiting and constipation

• High blood pressure

• Confusion, hallucinations and seizures

• Muscle pain, tingling, numbness, weakness or paralysis

• Breathing difficulties possibly requiring ventilation

Porphyria can cause Symptoms of Porphyria that affect the nervous system. These symptoms mostly occur suddenly and generally last a short period of time.